Assisted living facilities house thousands of senior patients throughout the USA. These spaces provide a safe and serene environment to the elderly, make them feel important, get them to interact with like-minded people, and help them with every aspect of their daily routine.
Thus, these senior care facilities must fulfill certain parameters to make them suitable for such a task, and a vividly painted interior is one way to start. Painting projects for assisted living facilities are never as simple as they seem, but they are just as important.
Not only does painting these walls inspire positive thoughts in the minds of the residents and patients but also keeps the staff in good mood and hence boosts overall performance.
This article will detail some of the most important tips and facts that you should keep in mind about painting rooms and sections of assisted living facilities:
#1 The Color Selection Will Have A Huge Impact
You probably weren’t expecting to see colors at the top of a checklist for commercial painting in an assisted living facility. But colors are the most important parameter for any painting job, especially those involving senior patients and their medical staff.
Colors are a form of communication.
Dull and unattractive shades often render a space hostile, simply by association of the said color with negativity. Of course, skeptics have long debated the effect of colors themselves versus our social perceptions, but we cannot shrug off the ground realities.
Colors stimulate our minds; they work, and that’s all that matters.
Assisted living facilities house people who’ve seen all forms of challenges in life. The senior patients have gone through tough times, and all they need at this stage is peace. Thus, your color selection should invoke feelings of calmness in the minds of the residents.
Don’t go too bold or too bland with the color scheme for your painting project, after all, you’ve got the elderly to deal with, and they may not fancy certain shades. If a color is associated with a social or political concept that some may deem undesirable, avoid it.
There’s nothing wrong with the colors themselves, but you will still have to be extra careful with the cultural associations.
Choose neutral shades, if you’re not sure, consult a psychiatrist about colors and social associations. You don’t want to go bold without knowing where you’re headed. Something like eggshell white, green, blue, or yellow may seem appropriate in general situations, but things vary in every assisted living facility.
Bottom line: be extra careful with the colors!
#2 Keep The Indoor Air Quality At Its Best
Commercial painting with nursing homes is not all about aesthetics, there are a couple of other things to keep in mind as well, and the indoor air quality is one of the most important ones here. Cheap paints are usually very toxic and can even generate foul-smelling fumes that may cause severe respiratory distress.
With senior citizens in the equation, things become even more complicated than they would be otherwise. Because these fumes can complicate their health even further and may prove to be lethal for some.
These fumes arise from volatile organic compounds, shortened as VOC, that are present in most paints. They decay easily and release gases into the surrounding air, rendering it unsafe for breathing. While the fumes are not toxic per se, they can induce allergic reactions in people and may even deteriorate an already present health condition.
The indoor air must be toxin-free and easily breathable.
This, you can ensure by using low-VOC or zero-VOC paints, which are comparatively pricier but infinitely more rewarding in terms of boosting the quality of life in assisted living facilities. Commercial painting companies often debrief clients on the merits of such paints during the paint-selection phase.
Be sure to heed their advice and make an informed decision.
#3 Develop A Painting Strategy To Keep The Residents/Patients Safe
Painting senior care facilities is tricky in that you’ll always have residents in the building. Yet, having fresh paint coatings can make all the difference in ensuring a calm and serene atmosphere. You’ll have to find a workaround strategy to get the facility painted without disturbing the patients.
Any commercial painting company would be more than willing to adopt a strategy that minimizes hassle and disturbance on your part. You can close certain sections and rooms of the building for the residents, and have the painters get to work there.
When the area’s ready to move in, you can proceed with another division of the building. This way, your residents won’t come into contact with the area being painted.
Wet paint has a certain smell that most find undesirable, but you don’t have to procrastinate on getting the building ready. You can employ a strategic approach with your painting project and get things done without any disturbances.
#4 High Traffic Areas Should Be Painted During The Off-Hours
Most commercial painting professionals have flexible work hours, they will adjust their availability according to your demand. Thus, with professional help, getting high traffic areas painted in your assisted living facility should not be a trouble.
Of course, you can’t go on and paint the cafeteria or other areas frequented by the patients in the daytime when they’ll be there. Instead, you should do so during the off hours such as after dinner-time or in the evening.
High traffic sections and rooms require constant touch-ups and will need to be repainted more than other areas because the risk of deterioration of the paint is higher. Thus, having commercial painters on the job will ensure that you can get the most done without causing any disturbances.
Unskilled laborers can never offer this level of flexibility and skill.
#5 Keep It Clean
Tidiness is as important an element as any with commercial painting jobs in nursing homes. You need to keep the interior as clean as possible. This means that there can’t be powdered paint waste or other stains in the room after the workers have finished.
Moreover, if workers leave stuff where it is, an elderly patient might slip and fall. Thus, you need to ascertain that the room will be thoroughly cleaned after the job is complete. Commercial painters make it a point to tidy up the space after they’re done to avoid any problems on your part.
They’ll also move the smaller effects outside before starting, cover up the things that cannot be moved.
Commercial painting companies also equip their workers properly, thus you can expect the use of painting tapes to ensure a finer and cleaner finish.
Keeping things tidy should not be your trouble, be sure to discuss this part with the commercial painting company before handing them the project.
#6 Minimize Disturbance
The whole point of having senior care facilities is to ensure a serene and sound environment for the residents. This may not pair too well with having painters over for work. Unskilled workers are not only clueless about the work ethics involved in the business but may even create disturbances unintentionally.
Listening to loud music during work, talking loudly, and aggressively pulling the step ladder are just some of the nuisances that unskilled workers can create while painting an assisted living facility.
Commercial painting companies ensure that their workers follow the best work ethics during their projects and don’t cause any disturbance.
Professional painters are all too well aware of the challenges posed by such painting jobs and will do their best in ensuring that things go smoothly for you.
#7 Touch-ups/Repaints – Know When To Do What
Regular touch-ups are a part of any building’s maintenance. However, you must know when to repaint the place, which should ideally be every 3-5 years, but not necessarily. There is no fixed duration for when you have to repaint the interior of a nursing home.
You can judge by the looks of things. If a simple touch-up seems adequate to solve the problem, so be it. However, when a complete repaint is needed, you should not procrastinate matters because things are only going to get worse over time, not better.
If you’re not sure what to do, you can always call in the experts and seek their advice.
#8 Use Paint That Will Last
This is a point that can’t be over-emphasized: the results must last.
When choosing among several paint types and brands, you must pick the one that offers long-lasting results and a lingering luster. Commercial painting jobs cost a bit more than what you’d pay unskilled laborers, but the results are more impressive and long-lasting.
However, if you cheap out with the paint selection (and most commercial painters will warn you against this), the whole initiative will be doomed. Thus, you should never try to rush the paint selection, and instead seek an expert opinion on your choice.
You will come across several paint types that resist stains, are cleanable, and retain their looks for years.
Teflon-coating paints are all the hype right now, and a little investment on your part in the short term will reward you infinitely more in the long term.
#9 Special Considerations For Special Environments
Several senior care facilities house special patients such as those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. In both cases, the individuals suffer from mental degradation and often have trouble remembering stuff. Thus, your building’s ambiance should be suited for them.
Most experts suggest the use of bold and bright colors on the walls, something that your patients will remember so that they don’t lose their way around the facility.
Having eye-catching murals on the walls is also a good idea.
You should consider the conditions of the patients, though. Don’t overdo stuff because that may make them too complicated and hence stressful for their minds. And try to avoid any patterns that may resemble jail bars.
Make the murals stimulating, something that will get the patients to ponder upon stuff – it is a healthy exercise for Alzheimer’s patients. Throwing in a couple of brightly colored arrows/direction indicators will also be very helpful.
In short: you should go beyond simply painting walls in special cases and create a stimulating environment for the patients who need it.
#10 Hire Professional Painters Only
People often bring up the cost issue when arguing against commercial painting companies. The reality, however, is not what most presume at first. Commercial painters, though they cost slightly more (and yes, the difference is only slight), do offer better cost-effectiveness.
The work of a professional will be much finer, last longer, and not need to be redone. This is not true for the endeavors of unskilled workers. Without proper equipment, adequate expertise, thorough knowledge, and practical experience, these workers can’t hope to parallel the excellence of professionals.
With the cost question resolved, let’s take a look at some other reasons why professionals are better.
Not only do commercial painters take full responsibility for their job, which means that they’ll handle the prep work, the coatings, and the cleaning up, but will also deliver much finer finishes. The use of paint tapes, for instance, can make all the difference when it comes to creating fine finishing of the paint job.
Then there’s color selection, brand awareness, and experimental knowledge.
Professional painters can mix products to create the desired color and consistency, which means that you won’t have to compromise on your plans.
Bottom Line: re:fab Has Your Back With All Exterior & Interior Painting Projects
With over three decades of professional excellence on our side, we, at re:fab are confident enough to face even the most daunting and challenging paint-related tasks. Our goal is to always deliver beyond the expectations of our clients and to ensure that their investment keeps the interior and exterior of their buildings all good and glowing for years to come.
Not only do our workers follow strict disciplinarian principles but also deliver the best results with every job. We are well aware of the challenges presented by painting jobs in assisted living facilities, and we are more than equipped and dedicated to handling them head-on.
Feel free to contact us anytime, and we’ll see to it that your project gets done on time and with excellence!
